Ok, I admit it, back in middle and high school, I was one of those geeky kids that enjoyed competing in Forensics. And, as you might of guessed, the category that I excelled in most was Storytelling. So really when you think about it, it’s not very ironic that today I own a successful PR business that is centered around effectively conveying my clients’ stories to the media and in social media. It’s something that’s always come pretty natural to me but that’s not always the case for every PR/Marketing professional out there.

So many companies are making the mistake of having their social media posts look like ads when in reality they should be telling stories to engage their customers in their brands. Last year, when my client, Wilderness Resort, was opening seven new attractions/amenities, we used their social media channels to tell the resort’s construction stories. We would regularly post pictures of what was going on behind the construction barricades, and tell the resort’s guests fun information about all of the construction projects. The results were amazing! Guests didn’t see the resort’s construction as a nuisance. They were excited by it and seldom complained about it. And, every time we announced a new amenity was opening on social media, we would host a contest with giveaway that would generate an abundance of posts by guests who were so excited to come and experience it.

What’s your company’s story and how can you tell it in a captivating way? You owe to your company to find out.

I’ve decided that in 2015, when I see a noteworthy article on a different blog I should simply post a link to it on my blog.

Here is the first article that caught my eye this year that I think has some really noteworthy social media ideas in it. It’s from PR Daily and it’s entitled: “5 Social Media Goals PR Pros Should Set”. It is written by Tom Corsillo who oversees digital and social media for The Marino Organization (TMO).

In December, I was named President-Elect for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter. Our chapter of 300+ members is the largest group of PR professionals in the state of Wisconsin. As President-Elect, I am in charge of our monthly programming. Here is a link to our website page with all of the currently planned programs described: http://www.prsawis.org/events/chapter-events/ .

As board member for PRSA Southeastern Wisconsin, I am also in charge of planning our PRO Day, a 1/2 day event for college students learn more about careers in Public Relations . The 2015 PRO Day will be held at Marquette University’s Student Union on Friday, April 17 and is being generously sponored by Eisner Creative Foundation and Big Shoes Network. To learn more about this event please visit http://www.prsawis.org/students/pro-day/ .

I am truly humbled to be serving as President-Elect for this great chapter. In 1992, I served as the Midwest District Director for the Public Relations Student Society of America when I was a senior at UW-Whitewater. To say this has been an amazing journey to come to this point in my career is an understatement. I can honestly say over the years, PRSSA and now PRSA have both dramatically impacted my life both professionally and personally, and I’m so grateful for the many wonderful friendships I have because of these two wonderful professional organizations.

Have you been one of the millions to do “Ice Bucket Challenge” to raise awareness for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS (commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease)? If you haven’t, I’m sure you you’ve at least seen or heard about this viral grassroots marketing campaign that has exploded for a good cause.

Here’s how it works: Someone who wants to participate (or has been “challenged” via social media by a friend) simply films themselves dumping a bucket of ice water on their head. It’s reminds you of those celebratory big game moments, where the winning coach gets drenched. But in this case, it’s personal. The person getting dunked then challenges a friend or friends to do the same in the name of ALS, within 24 hours, and/or donate to the ALS cause.

The viral challenge actually kicked off a few months ago, when Pete Frates, a 29-year-old Massachusetts resident diagnosed with ALS, started posting about it on social media with his father’s help. Frates was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease, which currently has no cure, in 2012. He is now paralyzed, eats through a feeding tube and cannot talk. The “Ice Bucket Challenge” really gained traction, however, when 200 friends and family members of the former Boston College baseball player used it to raise awareness about his plight by all dousing themselves at once in Copley Square in Boston. It made local news and then eventually national headlines.

As of Tuesday, August 19, The ALS Association has received $22.9 million in donations compared to $1.9 million during the same time period last year (July 29 to August 19). These donations have come from existing donors and 453,210 new donors to The the ALS Association.

So why has this been so successful for ALS? It’s simple really — people want to do good, and this is a fun and easy was to do so. Everyone has a bucket or a large bowl and it really is an easy way to show publicly via social media that you are trying to make a difference. But what is amazing about this challenge is that the ALS Association has picked up over 450,000 new donors to date from the simple idea, and Pete Frates has proven that if nonprofits and other deserving causes “throw a creative stone” out into the social media world the ripple effect can be amazing.

According to Barbara Newhouse, President and CEO of the ALS Association, “Our top priority right now is acknowledging all the gifts made by donors to the ALS Association. We want to be the best stewards of this incredible influx of support. To do that, we need to be strategic in our decision making as to how the funds will be spent so that when people look back on this event in 10 or 20 years, the ‘Ice Bucket Challenge” will be seen as a real game-changer for ALS.”

My hope is that it will be seen as the amazing campaign that led to a cure for this terrible disease. What could be your organization or causes game changing moment? The “Ice Bucket Challenge” is proving it doesn’t have to be a complex idea that costs a lot of money to implement or promote. Sometimes the best ideas are the easiest… Like dumping water over your head.

Happy New Year everyone! I hope your holidays were happy. January is always such an exciting time of year (despite Wisconsin’s frigid weather) because it offers so much hope. It’s a fresh start, a time to recharge and dive into new ideas and projects. During this time of year, I to love read all of the articles out there with people speculating about they think will happen in the year ahead, trends that they expect to emerge and what they think will fad away as new things come to the forefront. (Seriously, as far as the fashion world goes can we make Crocs go away permanently once and for all?)

When it comes to PR/Marketing trends, I recently read an article entitled, “Trends that will Shape 2014,” by Stephanie Frasco that I feel has a lot of merit. In it, she states that mobile will rule in 2014, and I have to agree. Smart phones are truly becoming the norm, and people of all ages are using them as a reliable information source. They are not just a means of communication but they are also a source of entertainment and people are checking their social media accounts regularly through their smart phones. This means your social media content needs to be relevant and fresh. Do you have a social media strategy for the content of your posts and how quickly you reply to customers posts? If not add this to your to do list for 2014.

Stephanie also says that blogs will continue to drive business in 2014, and I would have to agree on this point as well. Blogs provide wonderful opportunities for your organization to share its industry expertise, provide interesting glimpses into your business and its people; and talk about your plans, goals, new challenges, etc. If your organzation doesn’t have a blog you should also be adding this to your to do list for 2014.

The website http://digiday.com recently had a fascinating post about “15 eye-popping stats about social media shopping” and the role that social media is now playing in people’s shopping habits. I have to say as a consumer, I often find the sponsored posts in my Facebook new stream really appealing, and my friends’ pins on Pinterest of the “must have” coordinated outfits for the season beyond tempting.

However, what I found absolutely fascinating in this article though is that there has been an astounding 357 percent increase in sales from social traffic compared to last year. (ShopSocially). This just proves that these sponsored posts, tweets and pins are beyond tempting for many. Reinforcing this stat, four in 10 social media users said they have purchased an item in-store or online after sharing or favoriting it on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. (Vision Critical), and sixty-five percent of consumers said they are using social media to find the perfect gift for people. (Crowdtap)

Also interesting is that ninety-one percent of e-commerce retailers saw a lift in their SEO rank thanks to social referrals. (ShopSocially), and that over the period of Jauary through June 2013, social traffic to e-commerce sites created a revenue increase of 17.8 percent. (ShopSocially)

Do you administer a Facebook page? Are you constantly looking at your page metrics trying to figure out which ones really mean success or failure?

According to Emeric Ernoult, co-founder of AgoraPulse (a Paris- and San Francisco-based Facebook marketing software firm), since February 2013, Facebook has fixed the reach issue businesses where having with their pages and so your company’s main goal should be trying to reach as many of your fans as possible for free with each post.

So armed with this information, I took a look at one of the pages Fendos PR helps to plan and monitor for our clients. Over a recent five day span, this client had the following reach with their posts:
Monday: 40.8 percent
Tuesday: 41.34 percent
Wednesday: 36 percent
Thursday: 24.87 percent
Friday: 48.4 percent, Plus, we had two additional posts that day that reached 27.6 percent and 22.46 percent respectively.

I should point out that this client takes their social media pages very seriously. Fendos PR meets with them on a weekly basis to determine our posts for the following week, and we also have a calendar of ideas that we constantly add to and edit. The lesson to be learned here is that businesses can be successful with their social media efforts but that it requires planning, being committed to it and monitoring it closely. When something works, build upon it and if it doesn’t, don’t be afraid to abandon the strategy and come up with a new idea.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Fendos PR. It’s a noteworthy accomplishment for many reasons, particularly considering that over 50 percent of small businesses fail within 5 years and the economic troubles of the past 4 years.

This occasion has also given me a great reason to reflect on my business, and I have to say, I’ve been so fortunate to work on some amazing projects. Highlights have included working with Visit Milwaukee and the cast of Happy Days to unveil the Bronz Fonz; helping Visit Milwaukee with the Danny Gokey Idol Day; hosting Travel Channel production crews at the Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort three times; and working with the White House staff for the Presidential commencment speech at Concordia University Wisconsin.

Through all of these fantastic experiences, as well as my daily interactions with clients, I have come to realize a few things about myself and my business.

1. I am truly blessed. I work for the best clients who are passionate about what they do for a living and are motivated to succeed. Their enthusiasm is contagious, and it makes me want to work that much harder to produce results for them.

2. I put my heart & soul into every client. I really enjoy rolling up my sleeves and learning my clients’ businesses. And, many of my clients have been with me since I started Fendos PR. I think this speaks volumes. I am more than an outside vendor to my clients…I am one of them.

3. “Old dogs can learn new tricks.” Although I don’t really consider myself old, when I started Fendos PR socia media didn’t exist. when it came into the picture, I quickly relaized if I wanted to keep my doors open I had to immerse myself into learning it, so I took a 12-week social media certificate class through the UW system, started reading technology blogs, attended other technology seminars and even hired a recent college grad to give me a few tutorials. Social media has revolutionized PR and Marketing. I know for a fact I wouldn’t be in business today if I had refused to learn this amazing and ever-evolving technology. The day I lose my desire to learn new things will be the day Fendos PR goes out of businesss.

4. Networking is critical to one’s success. I am fortunate to say my phone just keeps ringing with new business opportunities. This is becaues every day I make it a point to network in some way be it making a post on Linkedin; attending a Public Relations Society of America meeting; catching up with alumni from UW-Whitewater; or going out to lunch with old collagues and clients. I make it a goal to stay top-of-mind with everyone I encounter because you never know who might need a little PR help down the road.

5. Work hard and allow yourself to shut down. In today’s hectic world of email, social media and workplace demands, you have to work really hard to make a business successful. However, you will quickly burn out or your health will be negatively impacted if you don’t reward yourself with some quality down time every day. Go to the gym, laugh with family or friends, read a good book and then get a good night’s sleep so you can dive back into your work with enthuasiasm in the morning.

6. Embrace a Challenge and Live with Purpose. Stop complaining about where you are at this point in your life. If you aren’t happy, figure out how to change what is making you unhappy. Don’t be afraid to take a risk. When you identify your true purpose and begin to live your life to its fullest you will truly be inspired to be your best each and every day.

For years I've been saying to clients, friends and family members to be cautious of online reviews. Personally, I don't take much weight in them and here's why. When you read an online review you don't know anything about the person who wrote it. Are the mentally stable? Did they have a terrible day at work and now want to take it out on someone? Are they looking for something free? Do they work for the competitor? Or, was the product they purchased truly disappointing? It's hard to guess.

Today, I happened upon this article: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/best-book-reviews-money-buy-131408538.html. It talks about how Todd Rutherford worked in a marketing department which helped to provide services to self-publishers, and how he came up with the idea of writing reviews for these authors for a fee.He started out charges $99 for 20 online reviews but his reviews were so well-received that he increased his price to $499! During his best months he was making $28,000 a month for writing fake reviews!

This article just reinforces my feelings about online reviews.There are a lot of unethical people our there, and online shoppers should be cautious! In my opinion, you are much better off asking the opinions of friends, family members and neighbors who have established credibility with you. You know their interests and their lifestyles are similiar to yours. Plus, hopefully they can be trusted!

Have you heard of Pinterest? It is an online bulletin board social media site where you can share images of things you like. Social media gurus are calling it "online crack" for women, and with 11.7 million registered users as of May 15 (of which 97% are women) it's easy to see why!

So how does Pinterest work? Registered users can either upload images they like from their computer or they can add a tool bar to their web browser so they can download images from websites using a "pin it" button. A user's Pinterest page is neatly divided into different boards such as "Home Decor," "Recipes I'd like to Try," "Craft Project Ideas," "Summer Fashions" "Places I'd like to Go," etc.

The pinned images are then available for anyone to view. Images can be liked, commented on or "repinned" by other users. And, just like Twitter and Google+, if a person uses # (Hashtags) they can search the site for specific items. On Pinterest's home page they also show the most viewed images of the day in addition to the most recent image posts of people you are following.

So how can businesses use Pinterest? To creatively promote their brand! For example, a shoe company didn't just put pictures up of their shoes. Instead they posted all sorts of creative pictures as to wear their shoes could take you. The shoes were still in the picture but so were famous landmarks from around the world, and the company also encouraged its consumers to post their own pictures of where their shoes were taking them.